Sue Smerud, (#2964) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Quilting badge.

"I made my granddaughter this quilt for Christmas last year, it was the very first quilt I have ever made. I went into a craft store and saw the material bought the needed materials and spent every day on my lunch hour and some weekends at my mothers house working on the quilt.

I looks like the picture on the quilt brochure, and my granddaughter loves her quilt."

Eileen Eckhardt, (ellimae, #3384) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a beginner level Going Green badge.

"My home is already green but I double checked everything again and made new laundry soap and cleaners like I normaly do. My back porch is a library of green books and homemade green cleaners and I talk the ear off anyone who will listen to about "Going green". I have given out my laundry soap to all my friends as a starting gift to being kind to mother earth.

Everyone knows me and I think I'm getting through to people how about how important it is to humanity to be green."

Paula Ricketts, (Sister Ricketts, #3354) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner, intermediate and expert level Heirlooms Forever! badge.

"Last fall I started learning how to and saving my flower and vegetable seeds. I've never planted anything but heirlooms and I specialize in native or naturalized native heirlooms. Early this spring I organized a seed swap with ladies at my church and taught them the importance of planting heirlooms and natives. Approximately 90% of the seeds I planted this spring we're seeds I saved last year, and all but my lemon cucumbers sprouted and are doing realy well despite the intense heat and drought we've been experiencing.Some of the ladies I taught heirloom gardening to just won 1st place in a flower competition at our 4h fair and are now at the state fair! I'm so proud. We're going to do another seed exchange in the fall.Some of my extra seeds this fall are going to be packaged in hand drawn/painted envelopes by my girl scouts and sold for a fundraiser for our troop next spring!

I also read "Gardening With Heirloom Seeds" By Lynn Coulter. In fact I loved it so much that I took my copy to the class I taught and ended up referencing it many times. Especially with regards to the way she explains the diffetence between heirlooms and seeds today. I couldn't explain it any better. One of the ladies borrowed my copy (and still hasn't returned it) I especially like how youg can use it like a reference book or simply read it."

Amanda Cortright, (mandymarie20, #2070) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a beginner level Going Green badge.

"I started using green cleaning products from Watkins and also using homemade cleaning products made with such things as vinegar, baking soda, and others. I wrote a Green Household Mission Statement. I have an ongoing Green Journal which I try to add a green tip a day. I have kept it for a month and a half.

Amanda Cortright, (mandymarie20, #2070) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Farmgirl Gratitude badge.

"I've kept a Gratitude Journal for about a month and a half. Since each item must be different every day, I've given thanks for everything from family to prunes. It's fun to try to think of obscure things to be grateful for.

Dawn Mathews, (thethankfulgoat, #3383) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Entrepreneurial Spirit badge.

"It was a mistake actually. Our goats got into laurels and we had to give them an antitoxin shot so we couldn't drink the milk for two weeks. I wondered, "What can I do with all this milk?" So a friend suggested I make some soap. Imagine my surprise when all of my friends wanted some and were willing to pay to get it. I thought there might be something to this and started working out a business plan.

I made several fragrances and proceded to sell all of them. Every time I made more I sold out. I thought about adding other products to the product line. This could become something."

Julie Felton, (FarmDream, #3069) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Community Service badge.

"I created a Merit Badge checkoff list which parallels the list of merit badge requirements. Ace stated she would like to incorporate it into the merit badge pdf's. It took 5 to 6 hours to complete, after spell check, etc.

Barbara Roberts, (Healthy Eating, #2237) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning a beginner level Carp-hen-try badge.

"There is a closet in the room that I want to use as my craft room where I had put a 3' by 4' plastic stackable shelving unit. The only way that I could get to anything on the unit was to take the sliding doors off of it so it definitely was not working well. I decided that I needed to put regular shelves in it so that I could get to things more easily. So I enlisted the help of my master carpenter partner Brian to show me how to do it. I also read "Dare to Repair" and will use it as a guide when things go wrong in the future as they inevitably will.

He could easily and quickly have done it himself in much less time than it took me to do it, but I asked him to show me how to use the miter saw so that I could do it myself. It's also called a chop saw and to say that I was nervous around it was an understatement.

Brian very patiently taught me safety first and things to be aware of when using it. I cut the shelves (scrap pieces we had around) and installed them myself. I must say it looks pretty good, even if I do say so myself and it definitely works better now. I can easily get to all of my craft supplies now that MaryJane has gotten me back into it all again."

Barbara Roberts, (Healthy Eating, #2237) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning an intermediate level Carp-hen-try badge.

"At the New York Says Thank You project in Ellijay, where I volunteered for four days, one of the projects we did was to build a bunch of picnic tables to have on the grounds of the Build An Ark Animal Rescue group. What was really neat is that they were built out of the trees that had been blown down by the tornado that destroyed the barn. I filed edges and sanded boards among other things to help construct the items.

One company brought a huge saw out to the grounds and sawed up all of the trees, some of which were huge. The lumber was cut into manageable sized pieces and 20 picnic tables were constructed out of the wood. Not only will these tables be functional for any groups that come out, they will be lasting mementos of the good that can come out of bad things that happen. All is in Divine Order."

Kim French, (french08, #2997) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Aprons badge.

"I sewed a half apron using material I spotted at a garage sale for 10 cents! This is my first apron ever and I am so proud to say that now I am hooked on aprons! It took me almost 3 hours to complete as sewing is very new to me, but it was so much fun. It is gathered at the waist and has three pockets in the front. I wear it in the kitchen and also outdoors when hanging laundry and gardening.

Kim French, (french08, #2997) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level Bee Good To Your Mother Earth badge.

"I am growing a veggie garden again this year! I have 24 raised beds newly installed this year. All that hard work is paying off with fresh organic veggies and fruit. The only pest control I use is a spray bottle of soap and water to deter bugs, totally organic. I have read Montrose: Life in a Garden by Nancy Goodwin and what a wonderful read that was.

We built 24 raised beds and filled them half way up with aged horse manure. The other half was top soil. After many hours of aching muscles getting our garden ready and planted, we are now reaping the rewards!"

Kim French, (french08, #2997) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level Heirlooms Forever! badge.

"I have read the book Gardening with Heirloom seeds by Lynn Coulter. It's amazing how I've never seen so many of those beautiful veggies and plants from long ago! We planted several heirloom varieties of seed in our garden this year accounting for at least half of our garden and I'm looking forward to next year to plant even more!

So far so good! After a microburst storm wrecked havoc on our property two weeks ago, our garden took a real beating! All my plants were laid down flat! That was 24 raised beds and I just cried! But sure enough within a couple days, they all started to stand back up and have survived the force of Mother Nature."

Kim French, (french08, #2997) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a beginner level Bustin' Out badge.

"For this badge, I have tried new organic foods weekly for over a month now. I live in the country where it is now exploding with farm fresh foods sold roadside and at small farmers markets. If I see something I've never eaten, I ask what it is and how to prepare it.

Although we must enter a finished date here, I am far from finished! It is a real treat earning this badge."

Kim French, (french08, #2997) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Lend a Hand to Farm Families badge.

"I have helped a farm family for this badge by cleaning their house on several occasions and have done this for at least 6 hours. This family does hay farming which is something I've never been familiar with. There is so much work to be done farming hay and all of it depends on the weather! I have a journal for this badge.

This will be an ongoing adventure for me as we have become close friends with this family. This has been a wonderful experience for me."

Kim French, (french08, #2997) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an intermediate level Lend a Hand to Farm Families badge.

"To earn this badge, I have helped a farm family with harvesting berries for a least 10 hours. They have a large variety of berries, including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and currants. On several of these trips, I have provided homemade suppers and batches of cookies.

While picking berries, there are many times I yelled OUCH due to the prickers but all-in-all it was a lot of fun."

Kim French, (french08, #2997) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Connecting Growers and Eaters badge.

"I have worked in a neighbor's garden for the alloted time of at least six hours. This is something I really enjoy doing and is ongoing. My neighbor has tons of berry patches that their family has been harvesting for forty years.

I now know what a currant looks like! Thanks to my good friends and neighbors, I have had many hours of berry picking and have become best of friends with them."